Going Down
by Bob the Taco Thief
Summary: The decision to go for a vacation with just the four of them had seemed like such a good idea at the time. A Halloween Special AU with our favorite Horsewomen getting caught up in some insanity. What could possibly go wrong?
1. Chapter 1

Charlotte Flair sighed and pulled her head away from the cool car window she had been leaning in for the last thirty minutes or so of the drive.

The large SUV her father had allowed them to borrow rumbling along the lonely North Carolina road, surrounded by miles and miles of Red Maple and Loblolly Pine whose leaves had turned into a beautiful collage of fall colors.

As the sunset lit up the sky Charlotte peered to her left towards the driver of the car, and best friend Becky Lynch.

As poor as she was at showing it, she was eternal grateful for the redheaded Irish woman entering her life when she had.

Being the daughter of the CEO of Flair Enterprises was hard enough, but adding in the death of her brother Reid making her next in line to take over the family business had added an insane amount of weight on her shoulders. A weight that may have caused her to crumble had it not been for Becky accidentally walking into the wrong class on their first day at college.

Charlotte had been nervous walking into her first ever class in a public setting. Her father had insisted on having the most expensive teachers he could have flown in, effectively keeping her sheltered from any sort of normalcy which contributed to her fighting so hard to attend a public university, rather than one of the Ivy League schools Ric had planned on sending her to.

The anxiety of being around so many people made her sit as far back as possible inside the large lecture Hall. Settling into one of the plastic chairs and placing her backpack on to the empty seat next to her. Pulling her laptop out and meticulously preparing herself for the start of the lecture.

After several minutes of waiting Charlotte let out of breath of relief that no one had set near her, which, considering that only about two thirds of the seats were filled it wasn't too crazy that no one sat next to her in reality.

Professor Ronnie Garvin made his way slowly over to the podium center stage and began to speak in a monotone voice that was about as exciting as the day one material he droned on about.

The door to Charlotte's right quietly squeaked as it open slowly, the person on the other side obviously trying to make as little noise as possible.

Charlotte tried to refocus your attention on to the old white haired man up front, but his reiteration of what had already been written in the syllabus caused the Flair prodigy to lose interest. Having already familiarized herself with the entirety of his syllabus last night.

Her attention wavered back towards the door when a striking shade of deep red begin to grow larger in the corner of her eye.

"'Ello there lass. You savin' that seat fer anyone?" The heavily Irish accent and whisper coming from this newcomer pulling Charlotte's attention fully.

As the stranger had drawn near Charlotte could feel her pulse begin to pick up. The anxiety that had been following her since she arrived on campus spiking at the prospect of suddenly having to interact with someone outside of her family, or the few business partners her father trusted enough to actually introduce to his family.

"I 'ope you would do me the honor of lettin' me sit next to the cutest lass in 'ere," she continued before Charlotte could form a response. Brown eyes sparkling with delight, and a bright smile shining with an openness that helped some of Charlotte's anxiety melt away. At least to the point where she could actually open her lips to form words.

"I wasn't saving it for anyone. You can take it," Charlotte offered, pulling her bag off the seat and placing it on the floor near her feet.

The Irish woman plops down into the newly open seat and immediately kicked her booted feet up on the empty chair in front of her period not even bothering to pull anything out of the backpack she'd been carrying, she leaned in closer enough so that Charlotte could feel the warmth of the breath on her shoulder, "Not even a mention of me callin' ya the cutest lass in the room? Damn, mus' be losin' me touch."

Her father's words about being careful who you trust suddenly echoed through her mind. Questioning this woman's intentions and why she would even try to flirt with her, since Charlotte was so obviously straight and her pick up line was so obviously false. Looking around the room she could see at least three women that were objectively more pretty than she was, "Whatever you want from me, you can just forget. I'm straight anyway, so just back off."

Having expected a quick response from the woman Charlotte was a little surprised when none came.

She risked a glance sideways and saw the other woman staring into her lap and nervously picking at her cuticles, "'M sorry. Din't mean to offend you or nuttin'. I feel 'orrible making such a pretty face look uncomfortable. Could we just—"

"Stop doing that!" Charlotte hissed out of the corner of her mouth.

"Doin' wha'?" Came the confused reply.

"Lying."

"Bout wha'?"

Charlotte groaned, "Your shitty pickup lines."

"You t'ink I din't mean it?" The fact that her voice sounded genuinely hurt piqued Charlotte's interest and began the faint rumblings of doubt for her initial assumptions of the thirties this woman.

"Of course you didn't," Charlotte confidently stated, before cracking just slightly, "Right?"

An unhappy chuckle came out of the other woman as she shook her head in disbelief, "Remind me ta hit whoever made ya so cynical someday. Some clearly messed up if you can't see 'ow stunnin' you are."

The words sounded so genuine that the doubt grew even larger.

"Sorry. I know ya said yer straight an all, but I'm honestly a bit sad you would t'ink I was lyin' bout that."

Charlotte found herself momentarily speechless from the impromptu speech.

"I can leave if you wan'. I don' want ya feeling awkward or nuttin," she whispered, shifting her body to indicate that she was ready to move at her word. Both hands placed on the armrests, prepared to push herself up and out of the seat.

Face with the reality that she may have misjudged this woman and ended up pushing away a potential ally in this new environment Charlotte sprang into action. Placing her hand on top of the strangers and whispering back, "You can stay… If you want."

While clearly still tense the Irish woman relaxed slightly and settled back into the seat. Her intense brown eyes moving to stare at where Charlotte's hand still laid on top of her own.

Following her gaze, Charlotte blushed and swiftly withdrew her hand, "I didn't mean anything by that. Like I said, I'm—"

"Straight. I know. You've mentioned it once or twice."

Charlotte felt an irrational need to defend herself, "I don't have any problems if you are gay, but I just don't want to lead you on."

The other woman held up her hands to show she meant no harm, "It's all good blondie. Just give me a momen' to recover from being turned down by a lass as beautiful as you. Then I can switch gears an' we can try maybe bein' friends," a hopeful tone coming through her last words.

Despite her early misgivings Charlotte really did want to try and make friends while at college and her defenses began to cave in, "I don't even know your name."

"Rebecca." Came the immediate response, "But I only let the smartest and most stunnin' ladies get away with callin' me that. Although if you insist on not countin' yerself amongst that illustrious company you can always just call me Becky."

Charlotte couldn't help but shake her head at the Irish woman's tenacity, "You just don't give up. Do you Becky?"

Becky smiled sadly, "As long as it takes."

Stunned by the essentially still stranger's kindness and positivity Charlotte had a hard time understanding the rush of emotions that overcame her when she gazed into Becky's eyes and saw the depth of honesty and care pointed her way.

Before she could respond professor Garvin's voice boomed out, "Would either one of you two want to explain what is so important you needed to speak over me?"

When Charlotte turned her head to see all the other students staring back towards them she froze.

Luckily Becky took the initiative and began to explain, "Sorry Professor. I just realized I was in the wrong class and she was jus' bein' polite and explainin' that to me."

Professor Garvin took a moment but seem to accept the answer and continue his excruciatingly tedious reading of the syllabus.

As she gathered her bag Charlotte turned back to her and whispered once again, "Wait! How can I get a hold of you?"

Becky flashed her a wide smile as she stood up, "Just look down."

Odd as the request was Charlotte shifted her gaze downwards and saw blue sticky note attached to her laptop that had not been there just seconds ago.

She read the hastily scrawled note, 'Rebecca, 2:30 pm, Tea at North Courtyard,' with a tiny heart etched underneath that had Charlotte rolling her eyes at the redhead's persistence.

Peering back up from the note she caught Becky's gaze as she was walking out the door. A cheeky wink and wry smile making Charlotte's stomach flip. Returning the gesture with a tiny smile at her own.

As the door had closed Charlotte put the encounter to the back for mind and tried to focus back on to the professors boring words.

That proved difficult when a certain face and Irish accent continued to cross her mind throughout the remaining 30 minutes of tedious lecture.

"Yer thinkin' awfully hard there Ms. Flair. Care to share?" Becky asked from the driver's seat. Pulling Charlotte back into the present.

Charlotte grinned over at her best friend, "Just remembering how we first met."

Becky's hearty laughter filled the vehicle, "Five years later and I still haven't got ya ta call me Rebecca even once."

She shook her head in disbelief that after five years this woman was still pursuing a goal Charlotte had informed her wouldn't happen, "Is that your only takeaway from that day?"

"I 'ad some other things, but if I recall you didn't wan' to hear 'em."

The blush that stained Charlotte's cheeks made it obvious Becky's words still affected her to this day, "Stop it."

The Irish woman's grin widened while she kept her eyes on the empty road in front, "Stop what?"

"Could both of you just stop the bullshit and just—" came the irritated voice of one of the two women's friends that were accompanying them on this mini vacation.

Her voice abruptly being cut off and muffled by the brunette that had previously been sleeping peacefully, "What Sasha means to say is could you please keep your voices down," crying out suddenly in shock, "Did you just lick my hand?"

The action had caused Bailey's hand to snap back to her side, the all too proud grin on Sasha's face now pointed at her, "If you have such a problem with it, don't cover my mouth. simple as that," she leaned in close to stage whisper, "Besides I thought you like it when I—"

"Ok! Ok, you win," Bayley quickly interrupted before Sasha could continue along that particular line of thought.

Sasha smiled and settled back into her seat. Content in her victory openly displayed through Bayley's obvious embarrassment of her bringing up their relationship.

"How can you possibly tease us over something that doesn't exist, get anytime I make fun of you and Bayley for being overly cute I get yelled at?"

Focused as the blonde was on the two passengers in the rear, she failed to catch the Irish woman flinching and slumping down in her chair upon hearing Charlotte's dismissive phrasing.

"Because I can," Sasha flippantly replied.

Rolling her eyes in exasperation at the pink haired woman's attitude, Charlotte turned back around in her seat and chuckled to herself.

With her own positive attitude in conjunction with the lightheartedness from Sasha and Bailey, it was relatively easy to tell that something was bothering the silent Irish woman, "Hey Bex. You feeling alright?" Concern etched into her features as she stared across towards her friend and current driver.

Becky was quick to shoot down any worry, "'Tis nuttin' lass. Just tryin' to pay attention to the road. I t'ink the turns supposed to be comin' up soon."

Bayley frowned at the quick exchange and began to open her mouth, only to shut it when Sasha shook her head and silently mouthed, 'It's her choice.'

Unhappy as she was by the way things were developing Bayley conceded and remain silent.

Becky was simply relieved that Charlotte seemed to drop it, and was searching the dashboard for the map they had got to help lead them to the old Flair cabin that was settled deep in the North Carolina woods, at the foot of the Appalachian Mountains.

Internally she was berating herself for failing to hide how much Charlotte's dismissal of anything between them had stung.

It had been the consistent story for the last five years.

As hard as Becky had tried to capture the statuesque blonde's romantic attention, Charlotte equal need to live up to her father's legacy and gain his attention had blinded her to most pursuits outside of class. Which in turn thwarted Becky's attempts to get the woman to be actually interested in her.

Not that she hadn't tried to move on. After getting nowhere through their first year at college, Becky had resigned herself trying to be the best friend she could be and forget her own selfish pursuit.

Of course, that had only ended up working so well, for so long.

She gave herself credit for lasting the next 2 years or so, before those old feelings came back stronger than ever.

The inciting incident was almost comically inevitable in hindsight.

Of course, someone as gorgeous as Charlotte would gather her share of admirers, that weren't Becky herself.

Becky could say now that she had become complacent and naive back then. But after Charlotte turned down every potential suitor for their freshman year, always citing that she was far too busy for a relationship right now, Becky had begun simply assuming that the trend of continual rejection would continue into the future.

The assumed knowledge gave Becky a sense of relief that she tried not to think about given how hard she was trying to be a great friend to the woman who seem to have far too much weight on her shoulders at such a young age.

That comforting blanket of naivete was ripped away when seemingly out of the blue Charlotte had accepted an invitation to dinner with none other than Roman Reigns. The man who happened to be both an annoyingly intelligent and polite man, while also being one of the star defensive players on the school's football team.

Becky had earnestly tried to hate the man, but after Charlotte had ranted and raved about how caring and cute he had been after their first date she realize that hating him out of spite would end up inadvertently hurting Charlotte.

So, despite the voice in her head screaming and jealousy that she had been caring for all this time and wasn't she cuter than silly old Roman, she gave her honest approval provided he continued to be as good as Charlotte had claimed. After all, it would be selfish for her to expect Charlotte to never date someone just because she had a crush on the blonde since she had accidentally walked into Professor Garvin's lecture and saw her sitting all alone in the back.

Things only got harder when the two actually had begun to get serious, after about a month of getting to know each other through the occasional date. With their schedules both being so hectic it had initially been hard for the two to spend much time together. Leaving Becky to take no small amount of joy from swooping in to steal as much time for just herself and Charlotte as she could.

Unfortunately, with the new semester came new schedules.

Schedules that Charlotte and Roman had painstakingly pored over in order to maximize their time together.

Becky had been a little blindsided by the arrangement, especially given how she in Charlotte had been doing the exact same thing for the last few semesters and she was under the assumption they would continue to do so.

"'Ello Charlie. You all set fer pickin' our classes?" Becky questioned excitedly upon entering their shared off campus apartment and seeing her roommate lounging on the couch.

Charlotte immediately had a hard time making eye contact, "Oh right… About that. Me and Roman actually already did that yesterday."

Becky tried unsuccessfully to hide her disappointment but being friends for years came with its up's and downs, and Charlotte could read her easily, "I don't want you to think this means we won't see each other, but Roman and I agreed that if we really want to give this a shot we have to be serious and try to accommodate each other. I mean we barely saw each other with how busy we both are," Charlotte tried to defuse the tension with a throwaway joke, "Someone probably would have thought we were dating considering how much we were together," laughing loudly at her own joke, "How crazy would that be?"

Even after lowering her expectations and accepting, at least on some level, that Charlotte would never be hers, hearing the desire of her wildest dreams so calmly and certainly shoot down whatever miniscule vestiges of hope she had left hit her harder than she could have expected.

As much as her suddenly fractured heart protested, Becky forced herself to stand her ground and put on a brave face to stop Charlotte from feeling any guilt over her own state, "That would be pretty crazy. No hard feelin's though. Yous two just doin' what ya t'ink is best. I couldn't fault ya fer goin' after what ya want Charlie. What would that make me?"

The relieved smile Charlotte sent her way momentarily dulled the pain in her heart, "You're the best. You know that right Becky?" Wrapping the Irish woman in quick hug before walking back to the door leading to her bedroom.

Unable to hold her tongue any longer Becky called out, "Call me Rebecca."

The blonde's hand stalled on the doorknob, "What are you going on about Becky?"

"Say my name."

Charlotte turned to look at her like she was a crazy person, "You okay Bex?"

"Why won't you just say it?" Becky had called out. Convinced that Charlotte was feigning ignorance of what this meant.

Charlotte's eyes narrowed as she looked at Becky with an anger that had never before been directed towards her friend, "I'm going out to meet Roman," she coldly declared. Changing direction and grabbing her leather jacket while moving towards the front door, "Don't wait up for me."

The wooden door resoundingly slamming closed on both their apartment and the last tiny sliver of hope that Becky seemingly had left.

Fleeting moments of interaction during the following month were filled with awkwardness and unease. The transition to their new schedules definitely cause them to see each other less, but it seemed clear thatvCharlotte was actively avoiding spending any more time than necessary in Becky's general vicinity.

For the first time ever the two had none of the same classes or even time periods Becky reckoned that she could count the number of times she'd seen the blonde between both of her hands.

Which is why she thought nothing about returning to her apartment after the one night class that she had, the same as she had for the last month period. Charlotte never being either awake or at home when she arrived.

On this particular night the soft orange and red glow of candles peeked through a crack in the door to Charlotte's bedroom.

Her feet moved as if they had a life of their own. Tiptoeing closer to the door. She spotted why the door hadn't closed, one of Charlotte's slinkier black bras having been haphazardly discarded and landing just perfectly so that it stopped the door from being able to fully seal closed.

Understanding dawned on her of what was obviously happening inside, and she slowly had begun to back away when the sound of breathy voice is made their way outside the door way that the two must have assumed was fully shut.

"You are so amazing Char."

Becky's jaw tightened at the softly spoken words. Trying her best to speed up her retreat as best she could while maintaining her silence.

"How do you always make me feel like the most beautiful girl in the world?"

"Its easy when it's true."

"I think I might love you—"

Unable to listen any longer and not willing to intrude on what was obviously such a personal moment, Becky turned and dropped all pretense of trying to stay quiet.

She couldn't spend another second in the suddenly stifling apartment. The atmosphere seeming to thin out to the point where Becky had trouble bringing in fresh gulps of air.

Luckily, she hadn't taken her shoes off prior, so she was able to move to the front door, still struggling to pull in any new breath. Her chest feeling as if a five hundred pound man with a bald head was sitting directly on top. Caving in her rib cage and making it impossible to breathe.

It took several attempts to get the door knob turning, her palms so sweaty that they continually slipped off the shiny brass knob. When she finally did get it to unlock the soft but unmistakable voice of Charlotte reached her, "Becky? You home?"

Unsure of what to do or say when her world felt like the ground underneath her was slowly falling away.

"It was probably just one of the neighbors. Don't worry your sweet little head over it."

"I can't tell if that was an insult or a compliment."

Roman's answering laughter seemed to mock Becky's morose mood as she quickly snuck out of the apartment and locked the door behind her.

Thinking back on it now Becky could admit that she had reacted quite poorly in the moment. Which would end up spiraling out of control for several weeks until a chance meeting with the pink haired woman currently in the backseat helped set herself on a better road than the one she had been dangerously flirting with.


	2. Chapter 2

_There had been a consistent story for the last month since Becky had overheard Charlotte's words to Roman, and what was left of her heart had shattered. The feeling that any chance, however slight, of the blonde someday returning her affection finally slipping through her fingers had been the impetus for Becky distracting herself by attending as many parties as she could._

 _The feelings that stirred up when she was alone being much easier to ignore and replace with the ease of alcohol, rather than confronting them directly._

 _It was never difficult to find a party somewhere on campus on any given night, but never before had Becky taken up the offers she would normally turn down._

 _Its not as if she never had enjoyed the odd party when Charlotte and she had felt they earned a night off from their studies._

 _However, the current streak of twenty-three consecutive days having at least one drink was very far out of the ordinary for her._

 _Her traditional response to the countless people offering alcohol around campus had always been that she didn't enjoy how shitty she felt after drinking, in order to politely turn down the offers._

 _On this particular night she was currently walking home all alone well after midnight, unsteady on her feet and well past the point of being legally intoxicated._

 _A brief, but impactful non-interaction with Charlotte earlier that afternoon had been her excuse for tonight's session._

 _It had been a simple and seemingly insignificant moment when the two walked past each other randomly during the day in between classes._

 _Charlotte was flanked to her left by Roman, who had his arm clasped tightly around her waist, while on her right side walked Dean Ambrose and his own girlfriend; Renee Young._

 _Roman and Dean's fellow football player and close friend Seth Rollins trailing slightly behind the group while he spoke on his phone to whatever girl he was trying to sleep with this week._

 _Even slightly hung over from the previous night Becky couldn't help but notice Charlotte as soon as she entered her eyesight._

 _Before she knew it, the group walked past her without so much as a glance in her direction._

 _The redhead couldn't have cared less about the others, but Charlotte being so engrossed in the story Roman was telling that she didn't even see or acknowledge her picked at the wound which hadn't yet, and probably never would be fully, healed._

 _A content smile and comfortable ease to their relationship that Becky was envious of. She used to think Charlotte and her own relationship was something special, but the blonde's apparent ability to easily find a replacement suggested otherwise._

 _At least on the blonde's side._

 _On the other hand, Becky had taken the new understanding of their relationship rather badly._

 _Skipping her next scheduled class out of fear that she wouldn't be able to keep herself under control for an hour and a half in public._

 _A few bad decisions later and that is how Becky found herself drunk, stumbling clumsily along the sidewalk._

 _"Little advice for you. Being drunk after midnight and walking around all by yourself is a recipe to get hurt."_

 _Becky startled at the unexpected voice calling out from the open window of the building on her right. Nearly tripping over her own feet as she whirled to see the owner of the voice._

 _The purple haired woman leaning onto the windowsill, her chin resting on her crossed arms. Brown eyes that had an amount of empathy in them that was impossible to fake._

 _One side affect of Becky being drunk was that her accent got somehow stronger, "Wha's it to ya? I din't ask fer yer 'pinion," lashing out for no real reason._

 _A sad, but knowing smiled graced the other woman's face, "You looked a little lost. Just so happens I know someone who is always willing to help." When Becky didn't immediately turn down the implied offer she rotated her head to look back into the apartment, "Bayley! Get your sweet ass over here! Give her a second, she gets cranky when I compliment her in front of guests," she grinned at Becky._

 _Acting as if this crazy scenario was commonplace._

 _"How many times Sasha! How many times before you quit it?"_

 _"Before I quit being blinded by how beautiful you are? Probably never, since I know you secretly like it. You really shouldn't have admitted that to me by the way."_

 _"Believe me I have regretted it since the second I told you."_

 _The woman Becky now knew was named Sasha laughed while turning to once again address the woman outside, "Would you like to come in? I promise we aren't demons or serial killers. Just some people with a warm apartment, some fresh cookies and a psych major that gives slightly better advice that Lucy from those old Peanuts comics."_

 _"I heard that!" Bayley spoke through a large yawn. Her hair unkempt, dressed in a pair of fluffy purple pajama pants and a large shirt with the school's mascot emblazoned on the front._

 _Something had somehow kept Becky rooted in place during this entire aside. Maybe Sasha's sincerity had done it, or perhaps a part of her had instinctively recognized something inherently kind and loving in the two's interaction._

 _The interaction between the two making Becky miss the old comfort in her and Charlotte's relationship._

 _With only a tiny amount of trepidation Becky responded to Sasha's question, "I s'pose I could come in. You did mention cookies. Right?"_

 _Sasha smiled at her, "I did. Bayley go open the door for her."_

 _Upon seeing the clearly inebriated and sad woman outside Bayley gave her a comforting look and walked away to let her in._

 _The next hour or so had been Bayley and Sasha calmly allowing the redhead to sit on their couch and pour out her soul while enjoying the chocolate chip cookies Sasha had baked earlier that day._

 _"… and now she barely even knows I exist. Ev'rytime I see her Roman's always 'ight there. I 'onestly just wish I din't love 'er so damn much. I don't know 'ow much longer I can take it."_

 _After hearing the entire story Bayley was unable to hold back any longer and threw herself across the room to pull the devastated, but slowly sobering woman into a tight hug._

 _"I can't agree with how you've been dealing with this, but I get why you feel that way. Sasha could you go get some sheets and a pillow. There's no way I'm going to let her go home tonight."_

 _Sasha got up from her favorite rocking chair where she had been patiently listening while wrapped up in a cozy blanket. She strolled across the room and rested a comforting hand on Becky's shoulder while leaning down to press a kiss onto the top of Bayley's head, "I knew you wouldn't. You are too nice for your own good, but that's why I asked you out in the first place."_

 _A low chuckle came from Bayley, "Just get the sheets. You've already earned enough brownie points tonight."_

 _The answering laugh grew softer as she walked away towards the closet._

The two women's generosity and continued support afterwards was something Becky would always be eternally grateful for. Fond memories of their early friendship and how much they had helped make life worth living again while Charlotte had remained enraptured by Roman.

As she peered back into the rear of the car and saw Bayley once again asleep and leaning onto Sasha while the other woman stared at her phone and unconsciously caressed Bayley's arm with her free hand, she couldn't help but admire how the two had stayed together despite their own problems and came out all the stronger because of it.

Becky remembered waking up the next morning with a pounding headache that was only made worse by the loud thudding knocks that came from the front door.

 _As soon as she had opened her eyes the miniscule amount of light coming through the blinds felt overwhelming and she had to close them once again. Not recognizing anything around her in this apartment until slowly the memories of last night hit her, and she recalled the two amazing women who had helped her out._

 _The continued knocking forced Becky to use her hands and cover her ears. Even with that though the noise made its way through as did the muffled panicked voice that yelled from behind the door,_

 _"Open up right now! Becky are you in there! Becky!"_

 _Even with her head throbbing, Becky could recognize Charlotte's voice anywhere._

 _"Shut up! We're coming," Sasha angry and tired voice called out as she walked from the bedroom she and Bayley shared. The brunette groggily following a few paces behind as she wiped the sleep from her eyes._

 _As soon as Sasha opened the door the tall blonde pushed her way inside, "Don't tell me to shut up. Where is she?"_

 _Deciding to play dumb Sasha answered, "Who?" Succeeding in her goal of irritating the blonde._

 _"You don't want to play this game with me pipsqueak," Charlotte threatened. Pulling herself up to her full height to tower over the shorter woman._

 _Sasha grinned, "At least I don't play games with someone I claim to care about."_

 _Charlotte anger was fast burning, but she didn't have an immediate response and defaulted to just pushing the other woman and smirking when she stumbled back into the arms of Bayley, "Where is she?!"_

 _"Ok how about both of you quit with the antagonistic crap," Bayley spoke up while holding Sasha back and whispering quietly in her ear to calm Sasha down and stop her from retaliating, "I'm sure you are just worried about Becky, but I will not accept any violence in my place. Do I make myself clear?"_

 _Charlotte appeared to be sufficiently scolded and turned her eyes down to the ground in shame, "Sorry. I'm sorry. I just got that text last night from you and I couldn't help but worry about her."_

 _"Not enough to leave Roman last night," Sasha mumbled underneath her breath, which luckily Charlotte did not hear._

 _Bayley pinched Sasha, hoping that would silently chastise her from making any more remarks like that, "I just thought you should know she was safe. She seemed to think it was unnecessary."_

 _Charlotte looked shocked, "Why would she think that? We live together, of course I would be interested if she wasn't coming home."_

 _"Holy shit you are so blind. I know blondes were supposed to be ditzy, but this is ridiculous," Sasha couldn't help but chime in._

 _Bayley physically stepped in between the two and held out her hands to stop anything from escalating, "Both of you just calm down. We need to talk about this like rational adults."_

 _Charlotte was already backing up to the door, "Listen I just came by to check on my friend, but I won't stay here and deal with her shit. Tell Becky I stopped by and to call me later. We have things to discuss."_

 _"Wow! Is the queen stepping down from her comfy throne to make time for the commoner? How generous of you, your highness," Sasha sarcastically said, throwing in a mocking bow._

 _Without dignifying the purple haired woman with a response Charlotte turned away and stormed out the door without another word._

 _Having been laying down and listening to the entire exchange Becky groaned and began thinking of possible explanations for her actions that didn't have to do with being heartbroken over Charlotte's newfound happiness with Roman._

 _The talk would actually go smoother than she thought._

 _Charlotte had been waiting at the apartment and grilled Becky upon her return. Asking questions about where she had been and how she had ended up staying at two stranger's apartment overnight._

 _Becky gave vague noncommittal answers that seemed to satisfy Charlotte._

 _Leading to her giving Becky a quick hug and saying, "I know I've been busy lately with Roman, but let's plan on a movie night Friday. Just the two of us, some popcorn and a horrible movie that we constantly make fun of. Sound like a plan?"_

 _Unable to deny Charlotte when she smiled at her and was finally offering some quality time together, Becky nodded along and watched as the blonde left the apartment once again to go meet Roman for lunch._

 _The rest of the week had actually been looking up. With two new friends to help fill in her free time where she would normally be left alone to wallow in her own thoughts and the opportunity to fix things with Charlotte approaching, the week had been easy for Becky. Going the rest of the week without having to revert back to drinking away her sorrow, and instead giving Bayley or Sasha a call._

 _Either of which would always help talk her down or be available to hang out with and keep her sane._

 _It was Friday night and Becky had trudged through her two classes that day working extra hard to pay attention since her mind kept on being overcome with anticipation of tonight's alone time with Charlotte._

 _Planning everything out meticulously. Driven to make this night a perfect night where she and Charlotte could at least regain some of their friendship._

 _Bayley had been an amazing person to talk to. She was able to sit through Becky's rambling thoughts and hear her rants over Charlotte's inability to see what Becky offered. One particular time this happened had stuck in her mind and etched out its place in her memory._

 _"… everyt'in was fine till Roman came 'long an' I couldn' hol' back no more. Ya know?"_

 _Bayley nodded in understanding and sipped at the mug of hot tea that Becky had made for her. Both of the sitting on opposite sides of the couch in Becky's apartment, with Charlotte out for her class._

 _"I was fine wit' bein' friends with her 'fore he was there. Now I jus' feel like I let 'er get away from me and we can't even go back to jus' that."_

 _"Do you even want to go back to being just friends with her? It seems like it only brings you more pain in the end?" Bayley surmised._

 _Becky ran her hand tiredly through her hair and put down her own mug, making sure to place it on the coaster provided, lest she get a lecture from Charlotte later on, "It would hurt me more to not be near her at all. An' it would hurt her too. I couldn't live wit' me-self if I hurt her on purpose. I'll jus' have to learn to live wit' it."_

 _"What if she ever did return those feelings? What then?"_

 _The laugh that came from Becky rang through the room, "I would prob'bly pinch myself, since I would assume I mus' be dreamin'."_

 _"If it was real? What if she is just scared of the prospect of dating you, but actually does return your feelings on some level?"_

 _Becky raised an eyebrow at the theory, "'Ave you been drinkin'? 'Cause you're soundin' crazy."_

 _"Hmm. Avoiding my question by deflecting. Interesting," Bayley sighed and put down her own mug. Folding her hand in her lap and leaning in closer to the other woman, "I'm not trying to give you false hope or anything, but from what you have told me about your past, you came on really strong, onto a woman that clearly had been sheltered and probably hadn't given being anything other than straight a thought. Am I right so far?"_

 _Becky nodded._

 _"So, then you continue to flirt with her on and off consistently for the next year. Do you see where maybe you may have scared her and made her hesitant. She obviously knows you have been and probably are still interested in her. Maybe she turned down so many people over those first few years because she knew that accepting one of those offers would hurt you. Have you tried looking at things through her perspective?"_

 _Becky's eyes wouldn't leave the ground, "Well when ya put it that way… I guess I may 'ave dug me own grave here."_

 _"I'm not saying that there isn't any hope. I'm honestly not even trying to tell you there is hope that she likes you romantically, but you have to think about how she might be feeling."_

 _The words had made Becky reconsider her approach and take a more casual attitude. Knowing that Roman wasn't going away anytime soon, Becky felt she should take what she could and try and go with the flow. Prioritizing Charlotte's own well being above her own selfish desires to force the woman into a relationship she obviously wasn't ready for._

 _Everything was going smoothly on their movie night. Their chosen movie of the night being 'Sleepaway Camp', a 1983 cult classic horror movie that was somehow funnier and more insane to watch than most comedies._

 _As they both held their sides from laughter Charlotte caught Becky staring at her with a dopey smile on her face, "What are you smiling at missy?"_

 _"Oh nuttin'. Jus' always nice ta see you lookin' so happy. Yer always so serious."_

 _"Well you would be to if your father expected you to immediately jump into the family business as soon as you graduate."_

 _"You seem to 'ave no problem lettin' yer guard down wit' Roman."_

 _Charlotte looked affronted by the insinuation, "Excuse me?"_

 _Becky was already internally beating herself up, "That came out wrong. I meant to say, I'm glad t'at Roman seems to be good fer ya."_

 _Silence stood between them for several moments and Becky was worried that she had somehow overstepped when Charlotte's hand covered her own and she connected her own eyes with the hypnotizing blue-green eyes across from her, "You always want the best for me. Don't you?"_

 _Becky sadly smiled and said, "Of course. As long as it takes."_

 _Charlotte's gaze flickered down to Becky's lips, and the Irish woman's breath caught in her chest at the sudden passion and longing displayed in those eyes._

 _The blonde slowly leaned in, her hand curling around the curve of Becky's shoulder and pulling her closer._

 _The sharp tones Charlotte's phone ringing broke the moment and Charlotte jumped back to her side of the couch. Scooting a further couple inches away and wiping her palms onto the couch fabric before picking up her phone and quickly answering, "Hey Ro-… Is he? Where? I will be there as soon as I can."_

 _Charlotte's face somehow getting paler with every word she spoke to the point where she looked like a ghost. She hung up the phone call, and her arm limply fell to her side. Lifeless fingers dropping the phone onto the floor as she flopped back down onto the couch and stared blankly at the wall._

 _Becky crept closer and kept her voice quiet to not startle the other woman, "Charlotte? Charlie? Are you okay? What is it? Can I help?"_

 _The other woman slowly turned her head towards Becky and despite the tears in her eyes calmly stated, "Roman was in a car accident. Could you please drive me over."_


End file.
